A panel of three judges has reserved its decision in the appeal of Keith Dunford, 48, a Regina man sentenced to two years less one day in jail for dangerous driving causing the death of Ashley Dawn Richards, an 18-year-old flag person who was hit and killed in Aug. 2012 on Highway 39 outside of Midale.

Brian Fitzpatrick, Regina Leader-Post

Updated: October 13, 2016

Keith Dunford, found guilty of distracted driving in the death of an 18-year-old flag person in a construction zone, arrives at Court of Queen's Bench in Regina. TROY FLEECE / Regina Leader-Post

A panel of three judges has reserved its decision in the appeal of Keith Dunford, 48, a Regina man sentenced to two years less one day in jail for dangerous driving causing the death of Ashley Dawn Richards, an 18-year-old flag person who was hit and killed in Aug. 2012 on Highway 39 outside of Midale.

Making his eight-point appeal, defence lawyer Aaron Fox claimed Dunford was not, in the immediate aftermath of the crash, made fully aware of both his right to immediate legal aid duty counsel and his right to silence. As such, Fox said, Justice Lana Krogan had erred in ruling at Dunford’s trial that his “right to counsel had not been infringed.”

Fox also argued that Justice Krogan erred when deciding that Dunford’s driving on the day “constituted a marked departure” from the norm of what should have been expected in such an area.

UK-native Dunford, a semi-truck driver, was making a return trip to the border to address immigration paperwork on the day of the crash, and said at the time he had been distracted as his immigration papers, which he had been looking at, had begun to blow around in his car.

Lakeside, N.B., native Richards had just moved to Saskatchewan with her fiancé and they worked for the same company, HJR Asphalt. The day of the accident was her first shift on the job.

Krogan said in making her initial decision that Dunford, “engaged in a long period of inattentiveness and distraction,” and noted that he failed to heed numerous construction- and speed-related signs over 13 kilometres, including no-passing signs, before striking the victim at an estimated 82-99 km/h.

Dunford had just passed two semis before pulling back into his lane, when he said in a statement he saw Richards ”basically there.” Signs on the route also included one that ordered speed be reduced to 60 kilometres per hour when workers were being passed.

Fox argued Krogan failed to properly consider the evidence in relation to the placements of these signs, and said her finding that Dunford had had not been paying attention for a prolonged period was not supported by the evidence.

Countering Fox’s arguments, Bev Klatt for the Crown said the evidence showed that Dunford’s exchanges in the crash’s aftermath showed “nothing to indicate … that he didn’t understand his options,” adding that he had been “able to communicate very efficiently and effectively at the roadside.”

She said his level of distractedness, which Fox said was momentary, was, as Justice Krogan had decided, “prolonged period of inattention.”

Dunford had also previously been through the same zone on his way south, which should have added to his awareness, Klatt said. Though Fox referred to the fact that one semi driver said that she too did not see Richards, Klatt said the semi drivers had at least realized they needed to slow down in such a zone.

“His distraction began a lot further back than that,” she said in response to Fox’s assertion that it was the papers blowing around that was his one key moment of inattentiveness. Though Fox argued no alcohol was involved and that Dunford had stopped immediately to help, Klatt said Dunford is “not entitled to credit because he obeyed the law.”

Speaking after the hearing, Glen Willick, a shop superintendent with HJR Asphalt, was emotional in describing the impact the accident had on his workers.

“I feel for Mr. Dunford, he has to live with that every day,” he said. “But at the same time Ashley’s still gone. Our people (still) live through the trauma of that day. He made a mistake and something needs to be done about it.”

With both the conviction itself and the sentence length being appealed, Chief Justice Robert Richards, Justice Ralph Ottenbreit and Justice Peter Whitmore reserved their decision. Dunford’s bail is extended until a decision is made.